Zhang Pinglu laughed with unrestrained abandon, utterly delighted. Zhang Yang’s advancement to the Great Perfection realm was a complete surprise, an unforeseen boon that had caught him entirely off guard.

The current Zhang Yang, even without his protection, could face any other Great Perfection master without issue; he now possessed the capability to confront such power alone. In a sense, this allowed him to finally set his mind completely at ease.

The rise of the Zhang family was now unstoppable. Having two Great Perfection experts was not simply a matter of one plus one equaling two; the sheer deterrent effect of two such masters was enough to make any prominent family or sect in the world hesitate to utter a single word against them.

To counter two Great Perfection experts, one would need to dispatch at least five such individuals to feel confident in success. Five Great Perfection masters certainly existed—one in each of the three major families, and among the Shaolin and Wudang sects, plus the two most notorious factions of the Demonic Path—but could they ever unite?

The answer was certainly no; these Great Perfection masters could not possibly gather to oppose the Zhangs, and even less likely would they act with a unified purpose. With this premise established, the Zhang family now faced no danger whatsoever.

Practically speaking, aside from the powerful fifth-level spirit beasts lurking in the few forbidden lands, the Zhang family had become the most formidable presence in the current age. This was the true reason for Zhang Pinglu’s booming laughter.

He had dedicated his entire life to the family; for a man like him, the growth and strength of the clan were the most vital and crucial matters. Now that his lifelong wish was fulfilled, it was understandable that he would lose his composure like this.

Yet, upon closer calculation, the numerically sparse Zhang family indeed possessed the most formidable strength available. The entire Zhang clan consisted of only four living members, though Zhang Yang was accompanied by three spirit beasts, all three of which were above the fourth level.

This meant that the Zhang family effectively commanded seven entities at or above the fourth level, two of whom were Great Perfection masters. This level of force was terrifying in the eyes of any family or sect.

After laughing for a while, Zhang Pinglu finally quieted down. The initial tension, followed by overwhelming surprise, culminating in the premature realization of his greatest desire—even a man like Zhang Pinglu needed a release.

His roaring laughter served as that very catharsis. “Squeak, squeak, squeak!” “Chirp, chirp, chirp!” As Zhang Pinglu stopped, Lightning and Shadow immediately hopped over, chattering loudly at him, seeming to scold him for the unpleasantness their master’s laughter had caused them.

Seeing Lightning, Zhang Pinglu’s eyes shone brightly once more, and he nodded with a smile. On their journey there, they had felt the spiritual pressure wave of the spirit beast's advancement.

Lightning’s might could startle spirit beasts below the fourth level, but it had little effect on them. Zhang Pinglu, a Great Perfection expert, and Zhang Yun’an, an early fourth-level practitioner, were naturally unafraid of a newly advanced fourth-level spirit beast.

When Lightning advanced, they had felt a familiar spiritual signature. Seeing Lightning now and noticing its transformation, they would naturally understand which spirit beast had broken through.

Lightning’s advancement was good news for Zhang Yang as well; the more powerful these spirit beasts became, the better, for they were now part of the Zhang family’s strength. “Old Master, since we’ve found Yang Yang, let’s head back!” Zhang Yun’an approached slightly and said softly.

Quite a few people were currently searching the forest outside. Because it was a primeval forest, their search was proving difficult, and several accidents had occurred over the last two days, though fortunately, no one had been seriously harmed by them.

“Good, let’s go back!” Zhang Pinglu nodded instantly, and Zhang Yang followed suit. He had intended to leave anyway; if not for the arrival of these two, Zhang Yang might already have mounted Lightning and sped away.

Lightning and Shadow both jumped onto Chasing Wind’s back. On the return journey, Zhang Pinglu and Zhang Yun’an were more relaxed, though their pace remained brisk.

Two hundred kilometers was not far for them, even through the dense primeval forest. On the way back, no spirit beasts dared to show themselves.

Lightning’s aura was completely unrestrained, signaling to every spirit beast in their path the presence of this powerful, newly advanced fourth-level creature. When a fourth-level spirit beast passes, second and third-level beasts naturally dared not make a move.

The group traveled swiftly, nearing the outskirts of Barbarian Mountain by the afternoon. Along the way, many venomous snakes had ended up in Zhang Yang’s pouch, destined to become Lightning’s rations in the coming days.

“People, so many people?” After walking for a while, Zhang Yang suddenly exclaimed, having sensed a large crowd about a thousand meters ahead. These people were scattered, radiating outwards in a fan shape; Zhang Yang counted at least several dozen individuals.

“Those must be the ones searching for you!” Zhang Pinglu chuckled, adding that they had stopped by earlier and gathered some information. Long Cheng and others, in their urgency to find Zhang Yang, had fully leveraged their influence, calling in countless people to assist.

Long Cheng, in particular, had reported directly to the Outer Gate of the Long Family, which then committed its full resources to the search. Long Feng had neither approved nor opposed this action.

Given Zhang Yang’s actual strength, these ordinary individuals wouldn't be of much use if he were truly in danger, but their searching might uncover some clues regarding his situation. The Long Family Outer Gate had directly mobilized over three thousand people from various corporations and influential positions, even shutting down non-essential operations in some areas to send personnel.

This action had also received support from the Long Family Headquarters. The Headquarters understood that this mobilization was largely symbolic, but that was precisely what they wanted—it demonstrated their stance.

Besides the Long Family, Wu Zhiguo, Su Zhantao, and Wang Chen had also maximized their influence, mobilizing large numbers of people. Especially Wu Zhiguo and Wang Chen, both of whom owed Zhang Yang their lives; with Zhang Yang missing, they felt compelled to find him by any means necessary.

They needed to see him alive, or find his remains if the worst had happened. Furthermore, the people from the nearby town had been mobilized by Mayor Wang.

Though the town was small, they could muster over a thousand people. Upon hearing that the benefactor who had funded and built their vital road was missing, the townsfolk joined the massive search effort without question, including the elderly and children.

Beyond the town, many neighboring cities under its jurisdiction had also taken action. Mi Xue, after her initial panic, had informed Zhang Keqin, not daring to hide the matter from him.

Zhang Keqin had proven far calmer than Mi Xue. He was deeply worried, yet he also recognized Zhang Yang’s immense strength.

If Zhang Yang were truly facing an insurmountable enemy, the presence of more ordinary people would be useless. The only ones who could genuinely make a difference were those from the Zhang family.

However, he still took action, commissioning certain people—swallowing his pride—to ask for help. Zhang Keqin’s influence was significant.

More than two thousand armed police officers from a dozen cities near the town were deployed to search the mountains together. The group Zhang Yang encountered were precisely these armed police, who, due to their superior training and discipline compared to other searchers, had immediately penetrated the deepest areas.

“Who goes there?” The armed police on the other side finally spotted them, and some even raised their rifles. Zhang Yang did not know the identity of these people, but Zhang Yun’an had some understanding, knowing that many were looking for Zhang Yang outside.

“I am Zhang Yang’s maternal uncle; we have already found him!” Zhang Yun’an stepped forward and spoke with a smile. The advantage of the Zhang family over other prominent families was that they rarely put on airs when dealing with ordinary people.

“Zhang Yang’s uncle? You’ve found him?” Someone among the armed police immediately stepped out, calling out in astonishment.

After receiving their orders for this mission, many were pessimistic about their chances. They had learned some details: someone had gone missing in Barbarian Mountain, and what kind of place was Barbarian Mountain?

Disappearance there practically equated to death. Moreover, he had been missing for over ten days, leaving virtually no hope of survival.

Because of this, some of the unit heads had complained, and some speculated on Zhang Yang’s true identity that could mobilize so many people. Before their arrival, thousands were already searching, with reports that more were still coming; with their addition, the total search force reached over ten thousand.

Ten thousand people in Barbarian Mountain, just to find one person—this was unprecedented for the mountain range. But they never expected that shortly after the mission began, the person they were seeking would appear.

This was utterly unexpected for them. Could someone missing in Barbarian Mountain for over ten days truly emerge alive?

“Sir, please come with me first; I will report to my superiors immediately!” The unit leader, though shocked and skeptical, showed no hesitation. While escorting Zhang Yang and the others out, he began contacting his superiors to report the new development.

They were deep within the mountains now, and to accommodate the armed police, Zhang Yang and his party completely abandoned speed. This greatly displeased Chasing Wind, which held its head high, snorting repeatedly, disliking the slow pace of movement.

“Excuse me, Chasing Wind dislikes strangers; please do not touch it!” A young soldier, intrigued by the beautiful Chasing Wind, tried to sneak over for a touch but was halted by a voice before he could get close. The young soldier turned back to look at Zhang Yang, nodding in surprise.

Chasing Wind was too stunningly beautiful, drawing the attention of many armed police officers who secretly kept glancing in its direction. The unit leader noticed this as well, but his focus was elsewhere at that moment.

He was currently troubled because the captain of the K-9 unit had approached him with a report: all the police dogs were behaving abnormally. These were highly trained dogs, brought specifically due to the dangers of the primeval forest and stationed with the advance team.

They had been fine previously, even warning them in advance of threatening wild beasts. But now, all the police dogs were listless.

They wouldn’t move unless physically restrained by their handlers. Every single dog was the same, even the usually majestic K-9 King.

This strange phenomenon was unheard of; nothing like this had ever happened before. As both the leader and the K-9 captain were perplexed and at a loss, something suddenly happened on Zhang Yang’s side.

Zhang Yang demanded to leave alone. The soldiers assigned to escort them couldn't stop him; Zhang Yang had already mounted the beautiful white horse and departed, and the elderly man accompanying them had also left independently.

The reporting soldier mentioned that despite his age, the elder moved so fast they couldn't catch up. The only one remaining behind was Zhang Yun’an.

(To be continued)